Panem High
by Ohdair
Summary: A/U: High school is like a gladiator death match where only the strong and good-looking survive. How will our tributes perform? "Word of advice," Johanna said softly, resting her chin in her propped up hand. "If you're going to tread the treacherous waters of those sea green eyes, you better be prepared to be impaled by his trident." Pairings:FinnickXAnnie KatnissXPeeta GaleXJohan
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** A/U. High school is like a gladiator death match where only the strong and good-looking survive. How will our tributes perform?

**Pairings:** Finnick X Annie, Katniss X Peeta, Gale X Johanna

* * *

Chapter 1

Fish out of Water

A sleek silver Range Rover pulled up on the most coveted parking spot in the entire school; sunlight bouncing off its shiny surfaces and bathing it in an ethereal glow as if the Gods themselves favored its existence. Finnick Odair hopped out of his car with years of practiced confidence, duffle bag thrown lazily over his broad shoulders, black wayfarers covering his brilliant sea green eyes. He wore a loose, stripped tank top that did nothing to hide his chiseled physique, shamelessly exposing enough of his smooth, tanned skin to distract a young freshman carrying her books. She gawked at him helplessly, before she tripped on her feet and dunked herself with all the grace she could muster into an open garbage bin.

Of course, all of this goes unnoticed to the golden boy of Panem High.

"Peeta, stop worrying," Finnick jeered, shuffling around the back of his car to retrieve his basketball and sneakers. "No one's going to give you a tardy slip, all the teachers love you - and you don't even have to flirt with them!"

Peeta stepped out from the passenger side with his backpack in hand, a worried expression on his face. He wore a solid black polo shirt and light khakis that hugged his strong build very flatteringly. "I don't want to push my luck. It's the first day of school, we should be early." He waved pleasantly at a group of kids who called out his name. Peeta was friends with everybody, even the younger grades.

Finnick shook his head and used his hip to shut his car door. "Did Gale tell you if he was showing up today?"

"Yeah he's coming. He just needed to drop Rory and Vick at school." Peeta slung his backpack over one shoulder and anxiously surveyed the double doors of Panem High. He didn't even know why he was anxious.

Sensing his unease, Finnick grabbed him by the neck and ruffled his ashy blonde hair.

"Lighten up Pete, it's our senior year," Finnick purred, gazing appreciatively at the large, bold letters that spelled 'Panem High' above their school entrance. It was their last year of high school, and Finnick planned to make it their best yet. "Who knows, you might even grow sufficient balls to tell Katniss how you feel."

Peeta elbowed him on the ribs. "Only if you stay celibate this year."

"I make no promises."

They stood for a moment, staring in silence. _Senior year._ Then with one deep breath, the two walked in like they owned the place.

"Hey Peeta, do these pants make my thighs look big?"

"No, Finnick."

"Ok cool."

* * *

Annie pulled her skirt up nervously, suddenly regretting her decision to wear something so conservative on her first day of school. While her polka dot skirt reached past her knees, all the girls around her wore multicolored booty shorts or kilts folded and pinned so high that it barely covered their bottoms completely. _Fantastic, I feel like a candidate for convent._

"I like your skirt."

Annie's head snapped to the side where a girl with wide brown eyes and a shaved head was staring at her with amusement, one hand on the door of her locker, gum popping in her mouth.

Annie blushed self-consciously. "Thanks, I think."

She gave Annie an agonizingly slow once over before she stuck her hand out in greeting. "Johanna Mason."

Annie shook it daintily. "Annie Cresta." Then a little unsurely she added "I'm new."

"I know, I can smell your fear from down the hall," Johanna quipped, giving a lazy wave of her hand. "Welcome to Panem High, the happiest place on earth."

Annie beamed at her and was about to say another thank you when Johanna's eyes widened with fear. "What did you just do to your face, Annie? You can't be walking around smiling at people like that; they'll think you've gone mad."

Annie frowned, confused. "Gone mad?"

"Yes, mad," Johanna hissed. "Only crazy people smile like that. I feel like you're going to throw me into a van, soak me in water and electrocute me." She glared. "Don't do it again."

Annie had no idea to respond to that, so she conceded. "No smiling. Got it."

Johanna gave her another calculating look. "What's your first period?"

She pulled out her schedule from her sea-themed backpack, to which Johanna grimaced disapprovingly. "First period, English."

Johanna shut her locker and threw her arm over Annie's shoulder. "Amazeballs, we can go together."

Forcing herself not to smile, Annie instead settled for a curt nod, which Johanna returned with a laugh. "I think I like you already, Maddie."

"Maddie?"

"It's my nickname for you, short for Mad Annie."

Nervous laughter escaped Annie's lips.

* * *

By the time lunch period rolled in, Annie found herself sitting in the buzzing cafeteria with Delly Cartwright, a pasty-faced girl with blonde hair, and Johanna, who graciously decided to take Annie under her wing and show her the ins and outs of the school. She was telling Annie about bathrooms that were sanitary enough to be used when another girl plopped down beside her. She had long black hair, olive skin and beautiful grey eyes.

"Principal Snow is out to get me, I just know it," she moaned to no one in particular.

Johanna rolled her eyes and pointed at Annie with her plastic fork. "Maddie, this is Katniss. Katniss, Maddie. She's new."

Annie sat up straight and smiled, then un-smiled when she remembered Johanna was sitting beside her. "Hi, I'm Annie Cresta."

Katniss stared at her hand with a frown. "Katniss Everdeen."

Sensing her distress, Delly leaned in towards Annie. "Don't worry, it's not you. Katniss has serious trust issues."

"No, I'm just not good with first impressions."

"Oh, I don't mind," Annie said brightly, shrugging her shoulders.

Katniss stared at her weirdly again, and as if Johanna had read her mind, she said "Maddie was home-schooled so she's a bit socially awkward. Apparently she's a genius though."

Annie blushed. That was the second time Johanna complimented her. It was true though, she was a genius.

"Home-schooled, huh, that's really interesting," Katniss crossed her arms and leaned back. "So you've never been to a real school before?"

Annie shook her head in response, not trusting her voice. She clasped her trembling hands together. Why she found Katniss so intimidating, she didn't know.

"But you're like, really pretty," Katniss continued with a smile. Johanna and Delly eyed each other and tried desperately to hold in their laughter.

"Thanks," Annie replied, unsurely, again. She was just unsure about everything today.

"So you agree," Katniss paused, raising an eyebrow. "You think you're really pretty?"

Annie squirmed in her seat, not quite sure how to answer that either. "I-

"You don't have to answer that Maddie," Johanna cut it with an oddly sympathetic expression. "Katniss is just being a mean girl."

Katniss stuck her tongue out at her.

"But you'll like it here, trust me. We have a lot of cute boys," Delly squealed happily, clapping her hands together. "Have you seen any you like yet?"

Completely and utterly lost with their conversation, Annie shook her head. She was too flustered with everything she barely even noticed the boys. "I mostly try and stare at the floor."

The three girls laughed. Whether it was with her or at her, again, Annie wasn't sure.

_Someone get me out of here._

* * *

Gale yanked his locker open, almost pulling the thin metal door clean off its hinges. As one of the richest schools in the district, you'd think they'd be able to grease some of these lockers.

"Stupid locker," he grumbled under his breath, scaring some of the freshmen who made the unfortunate mistake of walking by him. At almost six feet tall, he towered over most of the boys in their school. Not to mention he was built like an ox.

"Oy, Gale, fighting with inanimate objects again?" Finnick called out from down the hall, Peeta strolling beside him.

"Lay off, Finnick. I'm not in the mood."

"You miss me, I get it."

The three boys managed to get their lockers beside one another just like they did on their first day of freshman year. Gale's was already packed with his football gear and some books on the top shelf, a single picture of himself and his siblings pinned on the door. Peeta's was neatly organized of course, notebooks and textbooks on the top shelf color coded and arranged by subject, his art supplies on the bottom where his gym shoes were. Finnick's locker was empty save for a large rectangular mirror that hung on the door. He pouted at his reflection.

"We've got fourth period gym with the girls right?" Peeta asked, his neatly folded schedule in hand.

Gale nodded and grinned. "I hope we open with football today. I feel like I've been out of practice for too long." He turned to Finnick. "You trying out this year?"

Finnick gave him an incredulous look, and then pointed at his face. "I'm too pretty for football, you know that."

Peeta chuckled at his friends, shutting his locker. "Come on boys, I'm hungry."

* * *

"That tall, muscular god of a man is Cato," Delly continued with a dreamy sigh, pointing at a handsome blonde who picked up a freshman by his collars and shoved him roughly against a wall. "He's in the football team, and he's really hot."

"He's also got less common sense than a bottle of water," Johanna offered. "Last year, he asked me how to spell HUNGRY."

Delly glared at her. "He's just misunderstood."

Annie pretended to listen, she honestly did, but there were just so many "cute" boys in this school she had already forgotten most of their names. She really didn't decide to go to school to look at boys, she came to get an education and be around people her own age. It was supposed to be an enriching experience! And educational! She had no time for distractions, especially boys.

Just then the cafeteria doors flung open, and Annie, along with the rest of the student body, turned to look as three boys strolled in like they were in a music video. The farthest to the left was medium height, with ashy blonde hair and blue eyes. People greeted him left and right, and he flashed them a smile with such sincerity that Annie immediately found him appealing. Beside him was a taller boy - a man actually, with clear grey eyes, sharp cheekbones and jet black hair. He wore a red and white varsity jacket with a football tucked safely beneath his arm. He was quite possibly one of the most handsome men Annie had ever seen.

"He's off limits," Katniss snapped, pulling Annie away from her thoughts.

Delly giggled lightly at them both. "That boy you're drooling at is Gale Hawthorne, the captain of the football team and a total family man. A couple of years ago he lost his dad in an accident, so now his mom is pressuring him to get a football scholarship to support his three younger siblings." She licked her spoon like she was licking a phallus. "Oh and Katniss is weirdly protective of him."

"You two look like siblings," Annie said to Katniss, who turned bright red at her comment, causing Delly and Johanna to burst out laughing.

"We're best friends," Katniss gritted through her teeth.

"Anyway," Delly cut in, sitting tall as if she was doing a presentation. "The cutie with the backpack is Peeta Mellark, probably the nicest boy you'll ever meet. He's a brilliant artist; deep, smart and loyal. One time he wrote me a poem, it was so sweet." Then as an afterthought she added "And he's hopelessly in love with Katniss, even though he won't admit it."

Katniss suddenly found her nails interesting and refused to look up.

Annie turned back to the last boy in the group, and if she wasn't sitting down, she probably would've lost her footing. He was tall and muscular, with gorgeous bronze hair and incredible sea green eyes that twinkled even from the distance. He smiled at a pretty blonde girl sitting nearby and Annie could have sworn her heart skipped multiple beats.

"That," Delly smiled knowingly, chewing on her lower lip, "is Finnick Odair." She leaned in towards Annie, an unusually serious expression on her bubbly face. "Stay clear of Finnick Odair."

Annie couldn't help the blush that spread through her face at the mention of his name. "Why?" The question slipped out of her lips before she even realized it. The three girls shared a look.

"Finnick is dangerous to women," Johanna supplied plainly. "Especially to women like you."

"Finnick is a total babe," Delly pointed out like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But don't let his smile fool you," she leaned back in her seat and scowled. "He might look like a sweet, charming, innocent boy with a heart of gold but he'll make you fall in love with him even if you don't want to, and just when you think everything is right with the world and the sun is shining out of his ass he'll rip your heart out with his perfect teeth and crush it with a sledge hammer!"Her chest rose and fell with labored breathing, face bright red. Johanna and Katniss smiled awkwardly, patting her back.

Annie glanced at Finnick again. He was leaning against the wall with a petite brunette, halfheartedly telling a story that involved him waving his arms a lot. But she stared at him with curious, wide eyes and hung on to every word that escaped his lips as if he was reciting the most romantic poetry ever uttered in human history.

"The man is a real Casanova, Maddie," Johanna offers cautiously. "He's a decent guy, but he'll sleep with anything with an orifice."

"You're not attracted to him, are you?" Delly questioned.

_What? As if._

Annie shook her head fervently, but the blush on her cheeks betrayed her completely. "Oh, no! He's totally not my type."

Delly, Johanna and Katniss giggled at her pathetic attempt to lie.

"Word of advice," Johanna said softly, resting her chin in her propped up hand. "If you're going to tread the treacherous waters of those sea green eyes, you better be prepared to be impaled by his trident."

To their surprise, Annie didn't blush like they expected her to.

She just smiled innocently, opening her pudding cup.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **This chapter is a bit short because I wanted to get it out today. I also forgot to put a disclaimer on the first chapter, so I'll put one here. Thanks to those who reviewed!

**Disclaimer: **This is purely for the fun of it. The characters and their awesomeness do not belong to me.

* * *

Chapter 2

The Wager

Finnick Odair.

_How do I even begin to describe Finnick Odair?_

Annie watched from one of the empty bleachers on the football field as Finnick Odair ran around the track with effortless strides, wearing nothing but some flimsy, black cotton shorts and a white crewneck shirt. His short copper hair looked much lighter under the blazing sun as it swayed at the mercy of the wind and the thin sheet of sweat on his skin made him glisten like Edward Cullen, but way, way better looking. Gale and Peeta jogged along beside him, and save for a few other taller boys that included Cato and his buddies, all the others lagged at least half a lap behind.

While the boys warmed up and got their blood pumping around the track, the girls dispersed aimlessly on the field. Most of them decided to sit by the grass in groups and just watch, cheering and whistling as sweaty men ran passed them. Their gym teacher, Maggs, was apparently so old she would forget what day of the week it was. Annie overheard one of the girls in her gym class say Maggs was on her way to the field from the auditorium, but it could take the entire hour and a half for her to get here with the way she crawled. Makes you wonder why they made her the gym teacher.

So Annie sat, seething, as she watched her peers whimper and sigh at the sight of smelly teenage boys. When Finnick decided to send one of the girls a playful wink, they erupted in a fit of hysterical laughter like a bunch of brainless airheads.

Annie wanted to puke her guts out.

"Will you stop ogling the guy? He's going to have a heart attack," Delly reprimanded, clambering up the shaky steps of the metallic bleachers with a Starbucks cup in hand. Behind her were Johanna and Katniss, dressed in their school's standard gym uniform similar to Finnick's in color scheme, except with much less fabric.

"I'm not ogling him," Annie deadpanned defensively. "I'm trying not to asphyxiate at his stereotypical existence as the unattainable 'hottie' of high school. It's so cliché it's almost pathetic."

Katniss raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, do elaborate."

Annie folded her hands in her lap with a sigh. "I may have been home schooled all my life but I've read enough books and watched enough sappy high school chick flicks to know how the hierarchy of a typical high school is like. Granted, I was very skeptical about this hierarchy actually existing in the real world because...it's really hard for me to imagine young adults being assigned a place in the social ladder and just having to accept it, but I see that it actually does occur and-

Johanna cut her off with a loud groan, rolling her eyes as she slumped on the lower bleachers. "Ugh, you are smart."

"Get to the point," Katniss snapped impatiently, hands on her hips.

Annie raised her shoulders. "My point is, how does anyone fall for this," she waved her hand in Finnick's general direction, like she was presenting an animal at the zoo. "We all know how the alpha male of high school operates. He's the most predictable persona of all. I know so many douche bags like him." That wasn't a complete lie. She didn't know any in real life, but she knew enough about their kind of men.

Delly wrinkled her nose, twirling a hand of her hair around her finger. "I don't get it."

Johanna's hand shot up. "Me neither."

But Katniss sat down beside Annie with an evil glint in her eyes. She watched Annie intently. "Annie's saying any girl who falls for Finnick and his charms is an idiot."

"Hey!" Delly exclaimed in protest. "That's not a very nice thing to say."

Katniss waved her off and smirked at Annie. "You think you can resist him, don't you?"

Annie Cresta snorted. Duh. "I know I can."

Delly and Johanna opened their mouths to speak but Katniss silenced them with a wave of her hand. "Care to make a wager then?"

She should have seen this plot twist coming a mile away. How terribly cliché. Annie leaned back on her arms in thought. She shouldn't be distracting herself with these petty little bets. But if she wanted to have a real high school experience, like the ones in the movies and in the books she always read, then...

"What kind of wager?"

Delly and Johanna glanced at each other, unsure of where Katniss was going with this, but the girl was on fire. "You say you can resist Finnick. I say you're mad. You talk a lot of big words but let's see you actually do it."

"Do what, exactly? Resist _Finnick Odair_?" Oh god, even his name sounded like it was written by a love struck school girl.

"Yeah," Johanna quipped with a mischievous grin, finally catching on. "But not just that. You claim to know him so well, make him fall in love with you then."

Annie's face fell. Delly looked worried too, but Katniss lit up like a brightly decorated Christmas tree. "Make him fall in love with you without falling for him back."

"I don't know about this you guys," Delly cut in uneasily. "Finnick's our friend. We shouldn't toy with his feelings like this."

"We're not," Johanna argued, rolling her eyes. "We all know Finnick can never commit to a relationship, much less fall in love with one girl. We're just going to prove Maddie here that she's wrong."

Annie scoffed. "How are we going to know if he's in love with me? It's not like that's the kind of thing boys proclaim to the sky."

"If he asks you out," Johanna replied eagerly. She sat down beside Katniss. "Finnick is deathly afraid of commitment. If he asks you out, it means he's really into you."

"And if he does ask you out, you have to reject him," Katniss added seriously. "Show him you don't like him back by breaking his heart. Then you win the bet."

Annie was starting to not like this idea. She was up for proving to the girls that she could resist the charms of their high school's golden boy, but breaking his heart? It would ruin his confidence and shatter whatever self-worth he's managed to acquire throughout his adolescent life.

"What do I get if I win?"

Oops. I guess her competitive side won over. Poor sap.

"Besides the glorious right to gloat, which by the way is my absolute favorite thing to do in the world," Johanna declared, Delly and Katniss nodding miserably behind her. "How does $1000 sound?"

Delly glared at her and slapped her arm. "Oh, don't insult her Johanna. Annie's not going to do this for money."

"I'm in," Annie replied firmly, earning surprised, beaming smiles from Johanna and Katniss. Delly deflated in her seat. She probably thought Annie was morally above bribery, but her mom worked for a Quilting Company and her dad was gone, so they weren't exactly the most well off. A thousand dollars could do a lot for her. "You're really going to give me $1000 just to break Finnick's heart?"

Johanna shrugged indifferently. "My parents are filthy rich. They send me lots of money because they feel guilty for always being abroad. I would've given you $2000 but you already agreed to one."

"And we're not giving you $1000 to break Finnick's heart," Katniss corrected, standing to her feet. "We're doing it to see the look on your face when you realize you've fallen in love with him."

Annie's body tensed. That wasn't going to happen. But still, she couldn't help her reluctance. "What must I do if I lose?"

Johanna got to her feet as well, smirking like she knew something Annie didn't. "Nothing. Falling in love with Finnick is painful enough." She threw her arm around Katniss. "Just ask Delly."

Delly looked away before Annie could read her expression.

"I hope you're ready to get your heartbroken," Katniss said with her hand extended.

Annie shook it without hesitation.

_How hard could it be to resist one guy?_

* * *

Peeta wiped the sweat on his forehead with a white bath towel that he got from his gym bag and tried to shake some feeling back into his numb body. His chest gave a tight squeeze every time he breathed and he felt like he was dragging lead around the track. Maybe he shouldn't have spent all summer in the bakery. Peeta felt like he was just as old as Maggs.

Something big collided with his shoulder, sending him sprawling to the tiled floor.

"Watch it lover boy" Cato sneered, his friends chuckling behind him like a pack of hyenas. Kenny, a big guy with swine like facial features, chortled like a pig with every laughter, while Tibian, Cato's best friend, watched quietly from the side. The two never really said much, Cato was always the mouth of the group.

Peeta slowly climbed to his feet as they made their way to the showers. He rubbed his shoulders gingerly where Cato had tackled him off guard just as Gale and Finnick rounded the corner and spotted him.

"Hey Peeta, you're coming to the bonfire right?" Finnick asked, playing around with the basketball in his hand.

Gale caught the unease on his face and asked him if he was okay. Peeta nodded and plastered on a smile. "Yeah, sure. It's tradition after all."

Finnick clasped Gale on the shoulder. "Hear that? It's tradition. You can't break tradition Gale."

Peeta picked up his bag and towel from the floor. "You're not coming Gale?"

"I don't know yet," Gale replied as they made their way to their lockers. "My mom might need me to watch my siblings if she has work."

"Rory and Vick are old enough to fend for themselves," Finnick said, pulling his shirt over his head and stuffing it in his locker. A girl behind them walked straight into a closed door because of it. "Besides, you've been watching them all summer. I think you deserve a little fun."

Gale shrugged as he too, undressed from his sweaty gym shirt and pulled a clean one from his gym bag. The girl who hit the closed door walked right into a projector cart. Peeta, who watched this all unfold, helped the girl to her feet with a smile. She stared at him wide eyed, and blabbered something incoherent before running down the hall. Peeta chuckled and shook his head. Some things never change.

"Peeta?"

The blue-eyed boy turned to his best friends. "Yeah?"

The green-eyed boy leaned on his locker and crossed his arms. "I said, do you mind if I bring Katniss as my date?"

Peeta's bag hit him on the head.

* * *

**A/n: **That's it for now. Let me know what you think! By the way, because this is an AU, some characters may be a bit OOC. High school kids behave differently from tributes, after all.

Don't forget to review! Feedback, of any kind, is great.


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